Swimming glove



March 22, w, cRlGER SWIMMING GLOVE Filed March 26, 1951 I N V EN TOR.

ATTORNEY United States Patent SWIMMING GLOVE John W. Criger, Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada Application March 26, 1951, Serial No. 217,597

3 Claims. (Cl. 9-21) This invention relates to webbed gloves for swimming.

It is common in swimming gloves to make them fit the wearer tightly in order to prevent water from entering, necessitating manufacture of many sizes which makes them expensive. On the other hand the production of loose-fittmg gloves provides no means of escape for the water which enters.

Both of these varieties of gloves are ineflicient because they fit either so tightly that they hinder circulation of the blood, or they fill with water and become unmanageable.

lt is therefore an object of the present invention to provide webbed gloves for swimming which overcome the above-mentioned disadvantages.

It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide webbed gloves for swimming which are provided with openings at the ends of the fingers and an opening in the back of the glove for permitting escape of excess water from the glove.

Yet a further object of the present invention is the provision of webbed swimming gloves of the character mentioned which are constructed of two layers of plastic material, the finger sections being formed by sealing generally triangularly-shaped portions of the material on the edges thereby leaving small quantities of air sealed within the triangularly-shaped portions which tend to float the gloves if lost in water and provides a certain amount of buoyancy to the gloves.

Yet a further object of the present invention is the provision of webbed swimming gloves of the character mentioned which include an elastic portion or band for encircling the wrist band of the glove for holding the glove on the hand of wearer.

Other and further objects, features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description of a presently-preferred example of the invention, given for the purpose of disclosure, and taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, where like character references designate like parts throughout the several views, and where:

Figure 1 is a plan view of a swimming glove constructed according to the invention and illustrating the palm portion of the glove, and

Figure 2 is a plan view of the back portion of the swimming glove of Figure 1.

Referring now to the drawing, the glove is constructed of two layers of watertight plastic material 1 which generally conforms to the shape of a hand having the ends of the fingers connected. Any suitable plastic material may be used which is flexible and watertight.

The outer edges of the two layers of plastic material along the sides are sealed, such as at 2 to form the hand fitting or body portion 2 of the glove and the finger and thumb stalls 3 are formed by sealing generally triangulargly-shaped portions 4 of the plastic material on the edges 5 only. This entraps a small amount of air in the triangularly-shaped portions 4 which advantageously tends to float the glove in the water and gives it a certain amount of buoyancy. These triangularly-shaped portions 4 also form the webs between the finger and thumb stalls 3.

The outer ends of the finger and thumb stalls 3 are not sealed but are provided with the openings 6 to permit escape of excess water from the glove. Thus, the fingers and thumb of the wearer are contained within the stalls 3, but excess water escapes out the valves or openings 6 at the ends thereof.

An additional and somewhat larger opening 7 than the openings 6 is provided in the back of the swimming glove to permit additional escape of excess water therefrom.

An elastic wrist-engaging portion is provided to se curely fasten the glove about the wrist of the wearer and, to this end, a double elastic band 8 is provided which is knotted or otherwise secured to a buttoned-shaped fastening 9 on the back of the wrist band portion of the glove so that the elastic band is passed about the outside of the wrist band portion and the free end thereof is secured to the button 9 by encircling the same thereby snugly securing the wrist band of the swimming glove to the wearer.

In use, a swimming glove is placed on each of the hands of the wearer and the elastic band 8 encircles the wrist of the wearer and securely holds the glove thereon. The thumb and fingers are snugly contained in the thumb and finger stalls 3 and the webs 4 which have sealed in air give a buoyancy to the gloves which aids the wearer in swimming or tends to float the gloves if lost when using. The glove is rather loosely fitting except for the wrist portion and excess water escapes from the glove through the openings 5 at the ends of the finger and thumb stalls 3 and the relatively larger opening 7 in the back portion of the body 1.

The present invention therefore advantageously provides a swimming glove which fits several sizes of hands and yet which is snugly secured to the wrist of the wearer and permits escape of excess water. Also, the swimming glove has a certain amount of buoyancy which aids in swimming and finding the glove in the event it becomes lost in the water. 1n addition, the swimming glove is advantageously made from two pieces of watertight plastic material and portions thereof sealed to form the swimming glove except for providing the opening 7 in the back of the glove.

The present invention, therefore, is well adapted to attain the ends and the objects mentioned, as well as others inherent therein.

Accordingly, the invention is to be limited only by the spirit thereof and the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A swimming glove of the character described comprising, a body part, finger and thumb stalls and webs connecting the stalls together, said glove being of two piece construction and formed of thin flexible watertight material, said flexible material being sealed to form such body part, stalls and webs whereby air is entrapped in such webs, the stalls having openings in their ends and that part of the glove which covers the back of the hand having an opening therein, and an elastic wrist engaging portion.

2. A swimming glove of the character described comprising, a body part, finger and thumb stalls and webs connecting the stalls together, said glove being of two piece construction of two layers of watertight plastic material sealed about its edges to form such body part, stalls and webs whereby air is entrapped in such webs, the stalls having openings in their ends and that part of the glove which covers the back of the hand having an opening therein, and an elastic wrist engaging portion.

3. A swimming glove of the character described comprising, a body part, finger and thumb stalls and webs connecting the stalls together, said glove being of two piece construction of two layers of watertight plastic material sealed about its edges to form such body part, stalls and webs whereby air is entrapped in such webs, the stalls having openings in their ends and that part of the glove which covers the back of the hand having an openlng therein, and an elastic memberadapted to completely encircle the wrist.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,179,581 Virneburg Apr. 18, 1916 1,437,310 Ingram Nov. 28, 1922 1,457,858 Ruddell June 5, 1923 1,625,730 Lake Apr. 19, 1927 2,004,684 Bell June 11, 1935 2,078,133 Friedrich Apr. 20, 1937 2,169,939 Anderson Aug. 15, 1939 FOREIGN PATENTS 220,915 Great Britain Aug. 28, 1924 

